Tuesday 6 February 2018

Top Ten Tuesday | Shame, Shame, Shame...


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!


This week's theme is 'Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read' which is basically the story of my life. So this is going to be embarrassing.


We all have them, don't we? Those books we keep telling ourselves we need to read but then, year after year, they fall by the wayside for other things. I have quite a lot of those books, in fact, so today I'm talking about the books I haven't read despite having owned my copies for quite a few years now.



A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: I'm pretty sure I've owned my copy of this book since I finished my undergraduate degree, which means I've owned it since 2013 and still haven't read it. It's about time I got on that!

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Even worse I'm fairly certain I picked my copy of this one up while I was still at uni. It's one of those books I tell myself I'm going to read and never get to, so I really do need to try and get to it soon.

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber: Like the majority of the books on this list this is another one I came across in a charity shop and picked up because, as a huge historical fiction fan, it's one of the classics of the genre that I feel like I should have read by now. I'm not as eager to pick this one up as I am the others on this list but I'd like to cross it off my TBR at some point.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: Considering I did my dissertation on women in dystopian fiction it's incredibly embarrassing that I haven't read this one yet and, sadly, I know it's still so relevant. I want to read it, I just know it's going to make me angry and upset and I need to be in the right mood for that kind of book.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly: I've owned my copy of this for a few years now and still haven't read it which is ridiculous considering it's historical fiction with a dash of dark fairy tales. So many things I love!



Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke: It's the size of this book that intimidates me but my friend Natalie @ A Sea Change loved it and I'd really like to cross it off my TBR.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: Similarly, at around 1,500 pages, this book is so daunting to me. It's the one classic I'd really like to try and cross off my TBR, though.

Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman: Another one I found in a charity shop and still haven't read because I'm the worst. Sharon Kay Penman is an author I definitely need to have under my belt, though, she's so highly regarded in the realms of historical fiction.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: My parents got me this one for my first Christmas home from university. This means I've owned my copy since 2010. Oh dear.

The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift: Yet another one I discovered in a charity shop and would really like to read because I had the pleasure of meeting the author while studying for my MA and she was lovely. This piece of historical fiction is actually set around the area where I went to university so it'd be lovely to revisit it in this book.

Which books made your list this week?

11 comments:

  1. I read The Pillars of the Earth in college, so that was quite a while ago! But it's so good, I would highly recommend it! Also, The Crimson Petal and the White was really good.

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  2. Hah "shame"! Love that. :) I totally agree about The Count of Monte cristo, I want to read it too but it's huge. I admit that's held me off some. Also Handmiad's Tale. I haven't read it either, although I did just watch the show on Hulu, and yeah... would definitely have to take that in doses. It's pretty dark.

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  3. I hope you get a chance to read these soon! The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my favorite books ever.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. This is the story of my life too ... Trust me, I understand!

    Really thick books are always daunting because they require such a time commitment. I'm also not the type of person who can read multiple books at once, so I'm truly stuck with it for the long haul.

    I loved The Handmaid's Tale! It's one of my favorites.

    I've been on the fence about both The Book of Lost Things and The Crimson Petal and the White. Neither are my "typical" kind of book, but they intrigue me. I think I'd have to be in the right mood, but maybe one day I'll get to them.

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  5. I've only read a few of these--Handmaid's Tale and Shadow of the Wind. I have a friend who LOVES Pillars of the Earth and I swear would mention nearly every time I saw her, "You've read Pillars of the Earth, right?" before trying to tie something in to it. So last year I finally got it on audiobook and listened to it on my commute. For MONTHS. It is a behemoth, and I don't know that I would have had the patience to read it myself. Sure made the commute go by though!

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  6. Ha ha - no shame in having unread books! Don't we all? I should read some Penman too -- her works have been recommended to me several times. I loved Jonathan Strange, should probably reread it one of these days since I barely remember the details.

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  7. I loved The Book Of Lost Things! I thought it was such a decent read. :-)

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  8. I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns! I hope you do to when you get to it. The Shadow is the Wind has been on my tbr for ages as well. I’m determined to get to it this year though.

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  9. I haven't read any of these, so I can't really comment! I haven't even watched The Handmaid's Tale, lol. It seems too likely to happen... ;)

    Do You Dog-ear?

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  10. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is awesome - I actually listened to it on audiobook and the production was awesome. The miniseries is pretty cool too. :)

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  11. OHMYGOSH, yes!! 'Count' is WAY too daunting for me as a reader. Much as I adore the story, I think I'll stick with the condensed 2+ hour film. :)

    Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland, Jess.

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